Into the Darkness
by HeavenlyOnna
Summary: Nothing but silence surrounded me, the only thing I heard where the sounds that they made, the malicious, ravenous growls that emanated from them when they came for me and the sounds of my screams..." Not for the faint of heart...


Chapter 1: The beginning

I was just a little girl when my family was violently taken from me. My memories were jumbled, they had faded with time and pain, but I can still remember the blood. Dark and thick, a horrible nightmare that was burned into my soul. There had been so much of it. I can still hear the screams like a strange noise that buzzed at the back of my mind, always shifting from a distant sound, to something that seemed as if it was happening all over again. It never left me, that terrifying scream. Strange that I can't remember who was screaming.

_Was that my sister? Mother?_

I sighed, my breath bringing a sharp sting to the cut on my lip. It barley registered, I had become use to the pain. I concentrated on the other parts of my body, trying to asses the most recent damage, there was no place left untouched, that was not violated.

My right leg was broken again, the dark violet coloring of my bruises was garish against the paleness of my skin. My left shoulder was dislocated, they had enjoyed themselves as they pulled it from its socket. There were shallow cuts covering almost all of my skin, and where there weren't cuts there were burns . I can still smell my seared flesh in the air. Thinking about it caused my stomach to turn. I shifted my body and gasped at the pain that shot across my back and legs from the whipping that they had decided on for entertainment. They had been very cruel tonight, and when they pulled away from me I thought that they had intended to leave me for dead, by all accounts I was dead, my soul so broken that there was no hope of ever putting it back together again, but they would never break me of my will. I knew that it wasn't over. It never would be.

I closed my eye, the other one was already swollen shut, I could feel the trickle of blood that trailed from the torn skin at the corner of my eye.

_How long would they wait this time? _

Some times it was minutes, some times months. There were days that I had thought that they had forgotten about me.

_How long has it been?_

It could have been years or days that I was with them, there was no way for me to know, even if I had cared enough to pay attention; it was always dark where I was. Nothing but silence surrounded me. It was the time I enjoyed most these days. It meant that I wasn't hearing the sounds that they made, the malicious, ravenous growls that emanated from them when they came for me and the echos of my screams.

The screams were the one thing that they could always pull from me, at first I tried, I tried so hard not let them see my fear, feel my pain, but it never worked. The screams were extracted from me one by one until my voice was raw and my eyes burned, they made sure that I was always conscious of their evil, they relished it, fed off of it. I was their plaything and they enjoyed me, my blood, my pain, my screams.

They would taunt me by telling me about what I would become, the monster that they would create.

_Vampire. The undead._

Creatures that I barley remember my parents telling me weren't real. That it was just a bad dream. No monsters in the closet.

_What a very simple child I had been_.

They took pleasure in giving me the details, making sure I understood that the burn of the venom would be excruciating, unlike anything I've felt before. There had been glee, in their voices. I had desperately wished that I had the strength to hurt them.

Up until now I had thought that I had felt all the pain that could be felt.

_Apparently I was wrong._

My body would die, they had said, it would burn from the inside out. I would know nothing but the fire consuming me and the thirst burning its way up from my throat. Then they would release me to the world so that I may feed so that I may kill. They were using me as bait for the ones they called the golden ones, setting a trap for them. I didn't want to do it, I didn't want to help them.

As they say , "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Though I could not remember where I had hear that.

My head tilted sharply when I heard the first hiss. Forced my body to relax, I took deep even breaths.

_I can do this. It is just my body. I am still alive._

I said it over and over, it was something that had become routine. There was another hiss and there was a scrapping against metal. Sharp talon like nails scoring deep groves in the bars. The lock turned and my cage was opened. Laughter, deep and caressing. I flinched. I hated that. The sound, like music.

_How could something so horrible sound like music?_

"Oh good, you're awake. This is going to be so much fun little girl. I've been waiting for this for so long."

His cold fingers traced my split lip. Gentle in his affection before he showed himself for what he really was.

_So this is how he is going to start his games. With tenderness._

I controlled the shiver that ran across my body, tenderness always meant agony. He loved his games.

"Are you ready my love?"

He leaned in to whisper into my ear, his icy breath rushed against my flesh.

I looked him straight in his crimson colored eyes and spit in his face. He pulled away long enough to clean his face. A lustful gleam in his eyes. He stroked my hair and placed his palm against my cheek.

"So defiant. Even now."

He chuckled before his fist connected with my mouth. Pain exploded and radiated through my jaw. I fought to stay over the darkness that called to me, I kept my eye closed for a moment longer and when my world felt solid again I pealed them open and kept my eyes trained on his, and smiled, causing a flair of pain. He roared, bringing his fist down against my stomach, and for a moment I couldn't breathe, and then I was gasping again as his claws dug into my dislocated shoulder, jarring the displaced bone even more.

_I will not scream. I will not._

I bit on my tongue, keeping it still in my mouth. I could taste the blood, but I didn't care. I could feel his other hand moving, and then he dug his claws into the wounds on my back. My back arched as he knew it would and he pressed more firmly against my shoulder, the bone grinding against each other, the pain shooting electric currents through my body and It was too much. I screamed, one long agonizing wail, before I caught myself and bit my lip so deep that I gouged it. Blood pooled in my mouth and fell from my lips.

"That's enough, Felix. Bite her already, or would you rather go tell Aro that you haven't played enough?"

Felix let go and stepped back. I could see the anger on his face for only second and then he shrugged.

"Fine."

Was all he said before he was suddenly in front of me, roughly pulling my head to the side, exposing my throat. It was in that instant that I realized what was happening. They weren't here to torture me. They were here to finally fulfill on the promise of the change. My heart clenched as I moved to struggle but it was too late. His fangs pierced my skin and vein pulling the blood from my body. The black that had been swarming my vision finally won and I was lost to everything around me.

Then the time came when I could feel the fire, the thirst, it tore me from the oblivion that was in but they were wrong. It's not the worst pain I had ever felt, I was aware of other things besides the burn. Oh I felt it alright but I could manage it push it to the back of my mind. As I lay there I was able to take in the changes that were coming over me. My body was shifting, I could already feel my body heal, become stronger, like impenetrable stone but smooth and oddly faceted by the glow of the lantern. Shining like tiny diamonds were placed all over my body. I realized that I could smell things that I shouldn't be able to smell. The dirt beneath me, the water that rushed under that. I was a in a cave close by to water, the sea I could smell the salt in the air.

_Had I lived by the sea? _

I couldn't recall by this point. There was a loud padding of feet coming this way, and I could hear his heart thudding away in his chest, he was human, but he smelt wrong, dirty, something was overlaying his own scent, it was dark and festering almost like it was feeding off of the mans own essence.

_How odd. _

He turned somewhere and I could no longer hear his heart.

There were voices coming this way. Their words coming out in a hurry

"Will they be there?"

Felix asked, his voice excited.

"Yes, Edward will be there along with the rest of them. She's going to be our greatest weapon. If Aro could not penetrate her mind even as a human child then surely neither can Edward."

Demetrie's soft voice rang in reply and then I could no longer hear them as I felt and heard my heart take off like a humming birds wings.

_OH_ !

I felt like crying out but I kept silent even as my body arched off the table. Then there was one slow beat and then nothing. I didn't move, I didn't breathe, I laid there still as a statue.

"It's done let's get her out of here and report back to Aro."

Demetrie's voice came from behind me.

"It's to bad we're letting her out of here, she was a feisty one. Oh well, let's go."

Felix was a bastard, he had taken great care at being my main tormentor.

I felt myself being lifted and then we were moving so fast that I thought we were flying. I still did not move. Perhaps it was some sort of instinctual form of protection. I couldn't let them know that I was conscious yet. It was way to dangerous. From what they were saying they were expecting me to be out for sometime. It seemed that my new mind was a wonder to me. I was able to think on several different things at once, like the changes in the smell. I picked each one out without a problem. We were in a city, it was night and it smelled like....I zeroed in on the smell, it was rich; the flavor unlike anything I'd ever smelt, It took all my will just to keep by body relaxed. It took some effort but I was able to focus my thoughts on the situation I was in at this point. I scented the air slightly and realized that we had moved out of the city, the scent of earth surrounded me on all sides.

From what I was able to tell we were traveling south, away from the sea. I tried to call up some memories of the time before the pain but like so many other attempts it was all a haze.

"This is a good place, they aren't too far away, they'll be here soon. Set her down, wake her up."

I was dropped, and Felix slapped me hard enough to make my head snap to the side. My eyes shot open and a vicious growl ripped through my chest, rumbling in it's intensity. I shot up into a low crouch, there was no thought; just one swift action, my body automatically reacting to the danger. At once I was assaulted by the sharp clarity of everything around me. Everything was so bright, it took, my new eyes half a second to adjust. I saw my nightmares slowly backing away from me, huge grins on their smug faces.

"They're almost here"

Demetrie whispered, and then they were gone. As soon as they were gone I stood to my full height, looked around and smiled.

_I was free. _

I felt the chill in the air against my skin. The cool taste of it on my tongue. The scent of pine heavy in the air. I was in the woods. I looked up to the night sky that I had not seen in so very long. I hadn't been standing there for very long when I heard them standing behind me.

I turned to them. Calculating, assessing these creatures that were like me but not. Their eyes golden and suspicious.

"Who are you?"

The one I had assumed was the leader asked. His light blonde hair and young compassionate face made him look no older then twenty. He was standing in front of a woman, her long wavy reddish brown hair hanging down her back and her kind features peaking out from behind him. Next to her were two other males, one with dark hair who had the build of a bear, muscled and strong. The other one was blonde, and he had scars scattered over his features.

_Bite marks,_

immediately I felt sorry for him.

_Wonder if he's got them all over too?_

I saw his eyes widen for a fraction of a second with a look that was probably similar to my own.

My gaze settled on the blonde woman,who stood regally in all her beauty. A goddess in the night, and she returned my look with one of hatred. I didn't think that she and I would get along very well. Next to her was a small dark haired pixie, she was so small I wondered how she could be a monster like me.

I finally settled on a man with wild bronze hair. His honey colored eyes stared into mine for a moment and then a look of utter astonishment crossed his features. I could not guess as to why, I returned my gaze back to the leader.

_Who was I?_

That should have been an easy one to answer, but I simply could not remember my human life before my captivity. So I stood there waiting for the right words to come to me. I have not been in the presence of others besides THEM, the ones who caused me pain. I wished that I could know what they were thinking then maybe I would know what to say.

_Why hasn't she attacked us?_

my head snapped up at the question, but no one had even moved.

_Who are you? Where did you come from? _

_I can't believe it, she's beautiful. I hate her._

_I can't see her, Edward._

_Why can't I hear you?_

_Come on already, I need a good fight._

_hmm, she's getting anxious._

It was coming from everywhere, I couldn't shut it out, and I could no longer keep silent.

_SHUT UP!_

I thought before I screamed it out. I fell to my knees as I cried out, if my body was capable of the tears they would be falling to the ground. Just moments after I yelled there was silence. I gulped in air and stood and finally saw the shock that was stretched across their features.

"I'm sorry. I..."

I couldn't continue, the words were stuck in my throat. I tried again.

"My name is Bella, that is all I know."

My voice sounded odd. It rang like a bell, but that was wrong. It should sound broken from disuse.

"I am Carlisle. This is my family. What DO you remember?"

He asked me, but I wondered if he really wanted to know the answer to that.

I took a moment to scan the area, my body seemed to already know what it needed to do. Pure survival instinct. The wind shifted and blew in from the East, I raised my head up bringing in the delicious scent from before. That rich, dark flavor that caused my fangs to lengthen and venom to pool in my mouth. I could feel my vision narrow, a pin prick of pupil left in my glowing orbs. I didn't even think, my mind had shut down, nothing mattered but that smell. I moved and was racing with the wind towards it. Determined. I heard them following, but I just kept going, the need dragging me forward, leaving them behind. It wasn't until I heard the snap of a branch that it registered that I was still being followed. I whirled around, a vicious sound torn from me as a snarl curled my lips. I was in a crouch ready to attack.

He came to a stand still. He didn't move, didn't breath. I watched him beneath hooded eyes, a predator on the hunt. He shifted to the left slightly and I growled low and deep.

_I don't want to hurt you. Can you hear me? I don't want to hurt you, but I can't let you hurt the humans._

I blinked at him. I was hearing his thoughts. It took a took less then another second to remember that I had heard all of their thoughts. I could feel the hunger recede, my fangs retract. Humans, he said human. That smell was blood.

_Oh, I almost._

I couldn't even finish the thought. I straightened.

"I have to go. Now."

I held my breath and ran, as fast and hard as I could in the opposite direction from that delicious smell. I was so hungry, but I pushed it back, until I was well away from them. I didn't waste any time. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my senses. I picked up the sound of a fast heartbeat, faster than a humans, I scented the air and could smell the lion that was somewhere to the left of me. I tracked it, and took it down in nearly the same breath. We fought, it's claws felt like feathers against my marble skin. We tumbled through the woods and when I had it pinned I bit down against its flesh and fed. The thick liquid rushing down my throat easing the scorching flames, and when I had drained the last drops I pulled back and placed my head in my hands.

_What had I become?_

The thought bore through me. They had tried to make me like them, a killer, a monster. And they had succeeded, but only in their demise. They would pay for what they have done to me.

"Bella?"

He called out to me. I could hear the others now, coming up behind me. I shook my head and refused to move.

"Leave me alone please._ Please_."

I did not want to be seen like this. I was desperate for them to go.

"How did you pull away like that?"

_What?_

I raised my face from my hands and looked at them all. They wore the same expression of awe.

_What did I do?_

"What do you mean?"

He came slightly closer to me. I held still.

"You ran away."

I lifted my eyebrows at him.

"So?"

I couldn't understand why that was so important. It's what I should have done.

"Newborns shouldn't be able to pull away when their on the hunt."

He explained.

I shrugged at him. I didn't know what he wanted from me. I did what I had to do.

"I didn't want to hurt them. I didn't want to be made into this. I don't want any of it. It's what _**they**_ would have wanted."

He was crouching in front of me then, but still I stayed where I was. His honey eyes stared into my crimson ones for a long time, before he seemed to come to a decision. He shrugged out of his brown leather jacket and draped it across my naked skin.

"My name is Edward Cullen. My family and I will not hurt you, but you have to come with us. We need to talk, find out who made you and why you are here."

I shook my head up at him again.

"There's no need to go with you. I can tell you why I was sent here. I was made to destroy you. The Golden Ones, but I won't. They can't make me. I am not theirs to command."

I stood up and pulled the jacket off of me handing it back to Edward. The moon chose that moment to shine a sliver of pale moonlight against my skin. Reflecting the scars that never healed, the wounds that had sealed and remained branded forever on me. I heard their gasps. I smiled.

"They could not break me, but **I will break them**."

He did not make a move to reach for his jacket, his eyes were riveted on my scarred flesh. I shrugged again and let the jacket fall to the ground, and started to back away slowly from them. When I reached the edge of the meadow we were in I looked back at Edward.

"Thank you, but I need to be alone right now."

I didn't wait for a response I turned and fled into the night.


End file.
